Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today I rise proudly to support the Veterans' Entitlements, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Bill 2024. Our government, the Albanese government, is committed to delivering a better future for defence personnel, veterans and their families by ensuring that they can access the services and the support they need and, quite frankly, are entitled to and deserve.

This government has worked tirelessly to improve the system for veterans to tackle the key issues that harm the very people who have served this nation. We have delivered on our election commitment to address veteran homelessness with our Veterans Acute Housing Program, which delivered $30 million to support veterans and their families who experience or are at risk of homelessness.

We have reduced the time of veterans' claims. In fact, we cleared the backlog that, as stated in the royal commission, would never ever be cleared up under the LNP, and we did that one month before the royal commission's recommendation. At its worst, the coalition let claims take up to 435 days and had 60,000 unallocated cases. That is a national shame. We recognise that, though our improvement is vast compared to the previous government, it still hasn't been enough. That's why we've promised more support in our last budget, investing a further $186 million towards the employment of new staff to ensure that those backlogs don't re-emerge and to make claims processing even faster.

The Albanese government is also investing an additional $477 million in this year's budget to increase our support to the more than 340,000 veterans and dependants accessing services through DVA. All of this is alongside our work implementing the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, where we have committed an additional $220 million to deliver the first recommendation.

The Albanese Labor government promised to act on the state of veterans affairs, and that is exactly what we are doing. The legislation before us today is one of the many steps forward this government is taking for veterans communities. It will benefit current and former defence personnel and their families for generations to come. The amendment's main purpose is what it says on the packet: to simplify and harmonise Australian veterans' rehabilitation and compensation system. The legislation is in response to the first recommendation of the royal commission to do just that.

Those listening would know that veterans entitlements are determined under one or more of three primary compensation acts depending on where the veteran served. It also depends on which period of service caused or contributed to the condition being claimed. The legislation effectively streamlines the number of acts administered by DVA to significantly simplify claims processing, giving veterans and families the support they need faster.

Under this bill, claims from 1 July 2026 will be dealt with under one single piece of legislation, an improved Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act—or MRCA, as it's commonly known—regardless of when or where the veteran served. The bill also introduces a range of enhancements to MRCA that will make access to entitlements easier and fairer for veterans. These enhancements have been the subject of extensive consultation with the veteran community throughout 2023 and 2024.

To cut through the bureaucratese, the important principles of the legislation are to increase the funeral compensation cap, to cut through the red tape that delays payments to veterans and their families, to make it simpler to claim medical care for veterans and to provide a new payment for veterans over the pension age who suffered substantial injuries during service. All these changes place less burden on veterans and provide greater support sooner.

Veterans and their families should know that these changes will not result in a reduction in any individual veteran's payment. Let's be very clear about that. Compensation under the existing framework will still be awarded under the current agreements and won't be disrupted. Additionally, it will allow the community to take time to adjust, and they will be well-informed of the changes. A commencement date has been set for 1 July 2026. This will allow veterans to consider their individual circumstances and their families to adjust.

The date also ensures that advocates for the veteran community and DVA staff have adequate training to enact these changes. The question is: why is it needed? The changes outlined here are desperately needed. The system, as it stands, is overly complex and difficult to understand. The Albanese Labor government is implementing these changes to lessen the burden placed on our ex-servicemen and ex-servicewomen, fixing the system so it can actually provide veterans with the support they need. Importantly, it won't leave them in limbo waiting for their rightful compensation.

The calls for ex-defence personnel to fix the complex system have been going on for a long time, and this bill makes the most significant commitment to reform veterans legislation in over 20 years. For too long, the mantra that veterans had while accessing government services was, 'Delay, deny and die.' That's a horrible thought. This legislation is part of the Albanese Labor government's determination to change the LNP legacy.

The Albanese government is committed to delivering a better future for defence personnel, veterans and families, and the impact of that is not only across the country but at home too. These changes and a suite of measures outlined in the 2024 budget will deliver for just shy of 3,000 veterans and their families in our communities. I have been talking to local veterans at every single RSL over the last few weeks to see what the feeling is amongst them. I have to say: there is a lot of support. It means a system funded better than it has ever been for three decades, and that can only have a positive impact. Even those staunchest conservatives acknowledge that it's the Labor government that has fixed up the mess that veterans have suffered with for decades.

These changes that the Labor government is implementing come from longstanding calls within the veteran community. When we came to government, the veterans portfolio was in an absolute crisis. The legacy left behind by the LNP was a national shame. For a coalition that parades itself around as being strong in defence, they, frankly, did a pretty poor job—delay, deny, die. That came about due to the Morrison-Dutton government in action on a portfolio that was spiralling out of control. Wait times meant too many veterans and their families were suffering without attention. Wait times meant too many veterans didn't end up getting the entitlements owed to them. Even members of the coalition knew the shame of this legacy, with no less a person than the last Minister for Veterans' Affairs in the coalition government, the member for Calare, threatening to resign if more money weren't allocated to the portfolio and the 60,000 unprocessed claims weren't addressed. Delay, deny, die—this is the legacy that the Albanese Labor government inherited and that we have worked tirelessly to change.

My friend the Minister for Veterans' Affairs injected the funding and the resources that the portfolio has desperately needed for a decade. Through his tireless work, our government has been providing unprecedented support for veterans across our country. The budget that the Albanese Labor government brought forward in May this year reflected these goals and values. With the changes to the legislation we are here speaking on today and the increase to payments and support services that we put up in the budget, this government is standing up for the veterans in our community. We're not talking about it; we're actually doing it. We build. They block. This is something Australians should be holding this government and future governments accountable for.

The government has a responsibility to support all Australians, but there is a particular onus on government to stand up for veterans. As Shane Wright from the Sydney Morning Herald articulated, on page 97 of the budget there is a paragraph that 'demands to be read and understood by all Australians'. When we talk about a fair budget, this is a prime example. The Albanese government, in providing the support to veterans, have turned the tide. We are committed to leaving a legacy that will protect veterans for years to come. We are preparing our public systems and processes for the $6.5 billion going to veterans' support over the next five years—$6.5 billion. This is because of the massive increases we've seen in claims being processed.

When those opposite talk about cutting government spending, this is the sort of thing that they don't like us spending on. They complain about it. We do this because it results in increased payments for veterans. It's pretty straightforward. Those opposite failed to put money in the pockets of veterans and provide the resources to make sure veterans can have the best quality of life post service. They failed to do their job properly, so here, as in so many other portfolios, we are picking up the pieces. They failed to give the Public Service adequate tools and other necessities to do its job in helping veterans. And do you know what we got as the substantial idea from the coalition in their budget reply speech? That they're going to introduce cuts to public services—the so-called cardigan wearers. This is the shame that is the current opposition in this place.

The Shane Wright article talks about what we're doing. Scott Morrison, when he was Prime Minister, said, 'Oh, I understand the battles that so many veterans face when they leave the Defence Force,' and he argued that this nation should do more for the men and women in uniform. But do you know what? When it came to the crunch, he went missing. The article goes on to say:

By April 2023, the average processing time for a veteran's claim was 435 days …

And then it says:

… Opposition Leader Peter Dutton complained … that the number of public servants has swelled under the Albanese government, declaring the Coalition sees defence spending as "much more of a priority than office staff in Canberra".

They also see it as much more important than serving and helping the veterans who have served this nation. It's a pretty damning indictment of the views of the Leader of the Opposition if he thinks that the people who are helping the veterans get their payments and entitlements are not worthy. It shows that you can wrap yourself in your flag and stand there and pretend you're great for veterans but, when it comes to the crunch, there's only one side of the House that's actually standing up for veterans, and that is us.

We know this from Andrew Gee, the member for Calare, who talked about what happened when he was the Minister for Veterans' Affairs. Read his press conference transcript from 29 May 2024 at 8.41 am. This is something all of those opposite should read to realise just how badly they treated veterans for nine years. The member for Calare said:

I … threatened to resign because there was not enough money to clear up these … veterans' compensation claims, which are having an appalling effect on the physical and mental wellbeing of our veterans. And the reason that I was given as to why there was no funding was because at the time, the government was only prioritising funding that had a political advantage.

I'll read that bit again: 'only prioritising funding that had a political advantage'. So, because they didn't feel there was a political advantage in funding veterans' issues and clearing up the compensation, they wouldn't fund it.

To his credit, the member for Calare ended up resigning, and I think it was the right thing to do. There are many on that side that should sit down and think, 'Is that really what you did for nine years?' They were undermining the work of the Public Service, and now they want to walk these reforms back. The coalition has outlined what they were going to do, and it's disgraceful, and I wish they'd look beyond culture wars.

The ALP will always stand up for those who have served or are serving in our Defence Force. Our legislation before us today is one of the many levers we are pulling to reduce the burden and pressure, responding to the needs and wishes of the community to make sure access is available and support is there. That's why legislation like this must come into the parliament and must have a speedy pick-up. People opposite shouldn't be sitting there trying to hold it up and create another form of blocking and bureaucracy that doesn't need to happen. As we come to 11 November, everyone is going to be out at services for Remembrance Day. The question is: what will you have done by then? Will the bill have gone through? Will you support the changes that we've made and that we have continued to make? Or will you continue on with the age-old LNP mantra of 'delay, deny and die'?

As George Rosier from Carlingford wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald, the LNP attitude is summed up perfectly as:

… "Jackmanship", the attitude that "I'm all right Jack, and I don't care about anyone else". It was unacceptable in the Army 55 years ago, and it is unacceptable in politics now.

This callous treatment of the ADF veterans, added to a robodebt disaster, really demonstrates how much the coalition has failed veterans in this nation.

This bill is so important as one of the major steps going forward to address the 10 years of neglect under those opposite, who were happy to let veterans go homeless and without getting the compensation and the medical help that they deserved. It is only the Albanese Labor government who has taken the commitment and delivered on that, and the Minister for Veterans' Affairs should be congratulated for getting this done.

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